Spacing apparatus for wire-fence machines.



PATENTED' JULY 2, .1907.

R. S. SHOWALTER. SPAOING APPARATUS FOR WIRE FENCE MACHINES APPLICATIONFILED BRET. 2B. 1906.

El Z7zue/z&w1 gewiezz UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SPACING APPARATUS FOR WIRE-FENCE MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 2, 1907.

Application filed September 28,1906. Serial No. 336,620.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, REUBEN S. SHowAL'rER, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Dale Enterprise, in the county of Rockingham andState of Virginia,

have invented new and useful Improvements in Spac ing Apparatus forWire-Fence Machines, of which the following is a specificatiom Thisinvention has for its object to provide an apparatus whereby the strandsor runners may be held in a proper spaced relation while the stay wiresare being applied.

A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of thecharacter indicated wherein the strand engaging devices may be adjustedtoward and from each other to adapt it for use upon any fence composedof horizontal strands or runners at what ever distance such strands orrunners may be spaced apart.

Other objects of the invention are to produce an apparatus of thecharacter set forth which will be simple in construction, cheap tomanufacture, and easily transported from place to place.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of thenovel construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafterdescribed and illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein I haveset forth the preferred embodiment of the'invention, but it is to beunderstood that I may make such changes, variations and modificationstherein as properly come within the scope of the claims hereuntoappended.

Referring to the accompanying drawings wherein like reference charactersdenote similar parts: Figure 1 is a perspective view of the preferredembodiment of my apparatus. Fig. 2 is a similar view of a portion of thesame and looking towards the opposite side thereof. Fig. 3 is a detailperspective view of one of the strand wire engaging devices, the latteralso serving to adjustably connect the supporting members of theapparatus. Figs. 4 and 5 are horizontal sections of the apparatusshowing a portion of a strand wire or runner and the mode of applicationof my apparatus thereto.

The numerals 1 and 2 designate supporting members preferably in the formof bars of suitable length each provided with elongated slots 3 disposedin staggered relation on opposite sides of the vertical center of thebar. The members 1 and 2 are held in planes at an angle to each other byconnecting devices 4, each comprising arms 5 and 6 arranged at angles toeach other and having slots 7, the free extremity of the arm 6 having astrand or runner engaging terminal or hook 8 disposed in a plane at anangle to said arm, said hook being provided with an upwardly projectinginclined guard 9. The eye or opening 10 of the hook 8 is formed bycutting the material away at the free extremity of the arm 6, and bysuch removal of the material the arm 6 is provided with an uppershoulder 11, the guard 9 projecting over in proximity to said shoulderin the direction of the outer side of the member 1, as clearly shown byFig. 2. The several connecting devices 4 are se-' cured to the members 1and 2 by suitable hold-fast devices such as bolts 12 extending throughthe slots 7 of the connecting devices and contiguous slots 3 of thesupporting members. One of the hold-fast devices 12 may engage either aninner or outer slot 3 in one supporting member and the remaininghold-fast device of each connecting member 4 may also engage either aninner or outer slot 3 in the other supporting member, the slots 3engaged by the hold-fast device 12 depending upon the position of theconnecting devices 4 and the adjustment sought or predetermined.

By arranging the slots 3 in the members 1 and 2 in a staggered relationa wide range of adjustment can be obtained without making it necessaryto detach the connecting devices 4 from the supporting members, or tocompletely separate the hold-fast devices 12, and in making anadjustment or changing the position of the connecting devices toaccommodate strands or runners that may be spaced closer or furtherapart than in the fence last worked upon, it is only necessary to loosenthe hold-fast devices 12, move the connecting devices up or down andthen tighten said hold-fast devices when the proper spacing of theconnecting devices has been obtained. However, should it be desired, inorder to accommodate the device to a fence wherein the strands orrunners are closer together or further apart than in the fence for whichthe apparatus was last adjusted to move the connecting members 4 andstrand engaging devices 8 closer together or further apart than would bepossible by merely loosening the hold-fast devices 12 and moving them inthe slots 3 toward or from one another, the hold-fast devices 12 may beentirely released and placed in the higher or lower slots on theopposite side of the vertical center of the supporting members 1 and 2.In doing this the slots 7 in the arms 5 and 6 of the connecting devicescome prominently into play and perform a useful function by permittingthe hold-fast devices 12 to be moved longitudinally in said arms tocompensate for the arrangement of the hold-fast devices in the inner orouter slots 3, and still maintain the angularity of the members 1 and 2and a regularity of projection of the terminals or hooks 8 outwardlyfrom the edge of one of said members as set forth. Another advantage inarranging the slots 3 in staggered relation as set forth is that thestrength and durability of the members 1 and 2 are less impaired thanthey would be were said slots continuous throughout the length of themembers 1 and 2, or were there a single slot in each of said members, ordid said members have a plurality of small bolt openings. In membersprovided with a plurality of bolt openings a material disadvantageresults in that it is necessary to completely detach the fastenings forthe connecting members and separate the whole. apparatus to make achangein adjustment, no matter how slight the adjustment desired.

The hooks 8 project outwardly at an angle to the outer face of themember 1. Against the outer side of the member 2 a strand hook 13 may besecured by one of the bolts 12, the function of this strand hook beingto hold the apparatus firmly in place against the strands or runnersafter the apparatus has been applied thereto, as will be hereinaftermore fully set forth. This strand hook is vertically movable along themember 2 in the same manner as the connecting device to which it ispreferably attached by one of the hold-fast devices 12. While it ispreferred that this strand-hook be secured to the apparatus by one ofthe hold-fast devices 12 utilized for applying one of the connectingdevices 4, it will be understood that said strand hook might be held byan independent bolt and in a slot at a distance from one of the slotswith which one of the connecting devices may be in 006p eration. Theapparatus may also embody holding means for one end of the stay wires tokeep the latter in proper position while it is being wrapped about thestrands or runners. This holding means preferably consists of an angularmember 14 through one arm of which extends a bolt 15 which engages oneof the slots 3 of the member 1 at the upper extremity of the latter andits other arm being bifurcated as at 16, to provide clamping jaws inwhich the stay wire is irictionally held, as shown by Fig. 2. Thebifurcated projection 16 stands out from the same edge of the member 1at which the hooks 8 are located and at a sufficient distance from thesaid hooks to permit a practical application of the stay wires. Thisstay wire holding means may be vertically adjusted proportionate to theadjustment of the connecting devices 1.

The apparatus'above described may be used with any suitable fence makingmechanism, or it may be employed in some instances as an assistance inmanually applying stay wires to strands or runners.

In applying the apparatus, the member 1 of the frame is first disposedwith respect to the strands or runners as shown by Fig. 4, or so thatsaid member 1 is in a plane at right angles to the strands with thelatter in straight condition and bearing on the base walls of theopenings of the hooks 8 and with the free terminals of the guards 9partially extending over the strands. The apparatus as a whole is thenturned towards the strands or runners to bring the outer surface of themember 1 against the said strands or runners and during such movement ofthe apparatus the strands or runners are caused to contact with theshoulders 11, and as the walls of the openings 10 of the hooks 8 are insubstantially the same plane with the outer surface of the member 1, thestrands or runners,

, in view of the thickness of the latter, will be slightly kinked andsaid strands or runners clamped firmly against the outer surface of themember 1, especially when the strand hook 13 is caused to engage one ofthe respect to the strands or runners. The formation of the kinks by thehooks 8 also overcome any tendency of the frame to slip longitudinallyon the strands or runners. After the frame has been set, the stay wiremay be positively applied at the point desired with respect to all thestrands or runners, and after such applica' tion of the stay wire theapparatus may be quickly released and moved longitudinally on thestrands by turning the same again in the position shown byFig. 4 andwhen it has been moved along the strands or runners to a point where itis desired to apply another stay wire on the strands it may again beturned to the position shown in Fig. 5. lt is unnecessary in moving theapparatus along the strands or runners to disengage the hooks 8, and anyaccidental disengagement of the strands is obstructed by the guards 9which incline inwardly and upwardly from the hooks 8. Such dispositionalso facilitates the application of the hooks to the strands.That,portion of each of the stay wires between the bifurcated projection16 of the stay wire holding means and the uppermost; strand or runnerwill be removed or separated by cutting after the stay Wire has beentwisted around all of the strands or runners.

The improved apparatus will be found exceptionally useful and, since theparts thereof are readily separable, it may be conveniently stored incompact form when not in use. It will be evident that, as previously setforth, minor changes in the proportions, dimensions and details may beresorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention. Theparts 1 and 2 in the present case serve as a convenient frame; a frameof any other desired character may, however, be prov vided.

It will be remembered that I have described a strand hook 13. Thisstrand hook may be of any desirable character, although it preferablyhas as illustrated several notches in its under edge in order to adaptthe hook to the particular diameter of wire forming the runners.

To facilitate the handling of the apparatus the same may be equipped atsome suitable point with a handle. I have illustrated such a handle inthe drawings and denote the same by 13. This handle appears only in Fig.1 and is represented therein in dotted lines.

What I claim is:

1. In an apparatus of the class specified, separate angularly relatedvertical supports, and connecting devices for said supports, havingprojecting wire engaging terminals.

2. In an apparatus of the class specified, separate angular-1y relatedvertical supports, and connecting devices for said supports, adjustableon the latter and provided with projecting wire-engaging terminals.

An apparatus of the class specified having separate angularly relatedvertical supports, and angular connecting devices for the supports,having wire engaging terminals.

4. An apparatus of the class specified having angularly related members,and angular connecting devices for said members, provided withwire-engaging terminals, the connecting devices being adjustablelongitudinally and later-' ally of..the members lated members,connecting devices for said members ad justable on the latter andprovided with projecting wire engaging terminals, and a strand hookcarried by and adjustable on one of the members.

7. In an apparatus of the class specified, separate angularly disposedvertical supports, and connecting devices for said supports havingangular hooked terminals.

8. In an apparatus of the class specified, separate angularly disposedvertical supports, and connecting devices for said supports, havingangular hooked terminals projecting from the edge of one of the members.

I). In an apparatus of the class specified, angularly dis posed verticalsupports, and connecting devices for said supports having angular hookedterminals with upwardly inclined guards.

10. In an apparatus of the class specified, a frame pro vided \vith'twomembers disposed at an angle to each other, and angular connectingmembers arranged one above the other separate from and suitablyconnected with the said members, said connecting members having hooksprojecting from one of the edges of one of said frame members.

11. In an apparatus of the class specified. a frame provided with twomembers disposed at an angle to each other, and angular connectingmembers arranged one above the other separate from and suitablyconnected with the said members, said connecting members having hooksprojecting from one of the edges of one of said frame members, each ofsaid hooks being laterally bent, the hooks serving to receive wirestrands and the bent portions thereof serving to grip wires when theframe as a whole is turned.

12. In an apparatus of the class specified, a frame having hooks to gripwires, and a strand hook to engage one of said wires, the several hooksconstituting the sole supporting means for the frame.

13. In an apparatus of the class specified, a frame having a hookprojecting from one edge thereof, the hook serving to receive a wirestrand and to tightly grip said strand when the frame is turned towardthe strand, and a strand engaging device distinct from the hook toengage said strand to hold the frame in operative relation with thestrand when the frame is thereagainst.

ll. In an apparatus of the class specified, a frame-having a hook togrip a strand, and a strand hook pivoted upon the frame to engage saidstrand to maintain the frame in operative relation with said strand.

15. ln an apparatus of the class described, a frame having a hooklaterally bent to receive a wire strand and to kink said strand when theframe is moved toward the same, and a strand engaging hook movablymounted upon the frame to engage said strand to hold the framein'assembled relation with the strand.

16. In an apparatus of the class specified, angularly disposed membershaving slots extending longitudinally thereof, connecting devices forsaid members also having slots therein and provided with Wire engagingterminals,

and hold-fast devices extending through the slots of the respectiv eparts.

17. In an apparatus of the class specified, angular-1y disposed membershaving longitudinal slots in staggered relation in each, connectingdevices for the members also having slots and provided with wireengaging terminals, and hold-fast devices extending through said slots.

18. In an apparatus of the class specified, a frame, and wire engagingmembers operatively associated with said frame and adjustablelongitudinally and laterally thereof.

19. In an apparatus of the class specified, a frame having elongatedslots, devices also having elongated slots and fitted to the frame, andhold-fast means to extend through the respective slots and to providefor longitudinal and lateral adjustment of said devices with re spect tothe frame, said devices having wire engaging means.

20. In an apparatus of the class specified, a frame, devices associatedwith said frame for positively engaging the strands of a wire fence, anda device for engaging one of said strands at one side of one of saidother devices.

21. In an apparatus of the class specified, a frame, laterally separatedassociated with the frame for positively engaging the strands of a wirefence, and a clamping device for a stay wire also operatively associatedwith said frame.

22. In an apparatus of the class described, a frame, superposed hookdevices associated with said frame for positively engaging the strandsof a wire fence, and a movable device also associated with said framefor engaging one of said strands at one side of one of said otherdevices.

23. In an apparatus of the class described, a member having longitudinalslots, arms having longitudinal slots, holdfast devices extendingthrough the respective slots to provide for the adjustmentlongitudinally and laterally of said arms with respect to said member,said arms having wire-engaging terminals.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

REUBEN S. SHOWALTER.

Witnesses:

A. D. WEAVER, B. F. MINNICH.

